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City commissioner raises over $19,000 to help Tallahassee families during coronavirus pandemic

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States continues to climb as more states are easing isolation restrictions.
The total number of confirmed cases in the U.S. exceeded 1.5 million on Monday.
According to Reuters, American deaths now total more than 91,000 due to the novel coronavirus.
13 states saw a rise in infections this week, with Tennessee seeing the biggest weekly surge of 33%.
Louisiana saw a surge in cases of 25%, and Texas reported 22% more cases than in the first week of May.
Michigan saw new cases climb by 18% after five weeks of declines.
Wochit

People helping people is the driving force behind Elaine Bryant's idea to adopt 15 families who need support during the coronavirus pandemic.

Though she is a city commissioner, Bryant said she acted as "Citizen Bryant" to raise a little more than $19,000 to donate resources and supplies to families who need help — for rent, utilities, car payments and more.

About three weeks ago, Bryant reached out to social workers for the Leon County School District to identify families hit hardest. Then she reached out to her own friends to help raise the money, who reached out to their friends, and so on, as the idea caught on.

Eventually, Bryant had $19,300 — and that's still growing — to donate to help over a dozen families catch up on bills due or overdue, make home repairs and keep their cars running.

Elaine Bryant, center, stands with Leon County Schools social workers and district officials to donate more than $19,000 to 15 families who need help during the coronavirus pandemic, May 21, 2020.(Photo: Leon County Schools)

Bryant asked that she never know the names of the families being helped. Her only request was that social workers focus on families at Title 1 schools, and the families had to have been financially compromised by the pandemic.

Title 1 federal funding goes to schools that have a high number of low-income students. The extra money helps offset the impacts of poverty on a student's access to education.

“The Lord placed that in my spirit to be a blessing to some families in Tallahassee," Bryant told the Tallahassee Democrat. “These were concrete, very real things that these families needed. It’s so heartwarming when you do it and you’re not looking for anything in return."

Bryant has challenged other Tallahasseeans to adopt people who are financially impacted by COVID-19: “It’s a defining moment for all of America," she said.

CD Davidson-Hiers is an education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her at 850-631-0958, or CDavidsonH@Tallahassee.com. Twitter: @DavidsonHiers.